I am not afriad of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today~William Allen White

Archive for the ‘emotions’ Category

I cannot say i am an absolute animal lover but i respect all living things and feel absolutely outraged whenever i hear of animal abuse. I feel so disgusted and pained to hear of the brutal death of a stray cat in hong kong. The way the cat was cruelly and brutally abused absolutely makes my stomach turned. Some psychotic person grabbed onto the tail of a stray cat and keep flinging him so hard until he smashed into the wall. it was so violent the tail of the cat was brutally ripped off. Still breathing the cat scampered into the back of a staircase and suffered massive pain before dying. I am redundant with my feeling of absolute digust and horror, it is so hard for me to comprehend how someone can inflict such pain and cruelty on another living breathing creature. This is not a lack of education but the need of a person’s dominance on another. Why do humans do such evil things? This is one question i can never get an answer to because I also can’t understand how soldiers can inflict such pain and cruelty to other human beings during war. It is so painul and so sad to know there is this evil seed inside each one of us…

I am so confused about the infant formula shortage, it’s such a weird HK issue. I really feel sorry for the mothers in HK, of all things to have to stress over! But if we are to seriously analyze the problem, there are so many parties to blame. How do I feel about水貨客? I find them just completely annoying because what they do are doing, pushing carts and boxes of heavy products in and out of public transportation are completely annoying and affecting our daily lives, but they are not to be blamed. These 水貨客 appear because these is such a large gap between HKD & RMB in regards to the exchange rate and to the fact there is no taxes in Hong Hong but taxes in China. Generally speaking, these gaps are not an issue if HK and China are two separate entities; however, nowadays, access between HK and China are so easy, of course the industry of水貨客 appear! We should applaud the business venture spirit of Chinese people and blame the government for their uselessness. If goods entering China are to be taxed as they are supposed to, than millions of people are breaking the law, so why are they not caught? Throw a few in jail, there should be a decrease # in this industry. People that “pull” frozen beef into China from HK actually tell 水貨客 to keep “pulling” these beef into China because they know the freezers at the immigration office are full so their items will not be taken away! If the government really wants to solve the水貨客 problem, it is possible! Don’t airplanes limit passengers to the amount of luggage they are allowed onto planes? Why can’t there be immigration officers at the HK/China check points performing the same function? People entering China/HK—consider them going overseas or whatever, they need to show arrival and departure cards and are limited to 20kg per person. Sorry, you cannot pay for additional carry on—all overweight luggage will be thrown away. Similarly, people that cross the border between HK/China that are not staying overnight might only be allowed 7kg per crossing and any 2nd, 3rd, or additional crossing on the same day are not allowed any additional luggage. Seriously, just issuing this luggage policy will stop 水貨客—if not 100%, at least 80%! If the government really want to stop this problem, they can! I mean, if I can think of it, why are people paid millions of dollars a year not able to? For me, I actually don’t give a crap who is the chief executive of HK, and I really think since CY Leung is now the chief executive, let’s just all shut up and let him do his job, because protesting and screaming every day and wanting to pull him down…what does that do? Like seriously, what does that do? Is there another person the people want? If not, let’s just give him some time and do what he’s supposed to do just because he is already at that post. I don’t know, I think instead of screaming and protesting “down with CY”, maybe the screaming and protesting should be on implementing these suitcase restrictions to be implemented to at least give the people in HK a little ease of mind. I too, find it appalling to see people wheeling cartons after cartons of toilet paper, yakult, chocolate across the border, sigh, WTF. If I go a step further, you can’t blame the consumers in China for buying infant formula in HK because they too don’t trust “made in China”, that’s the ultimate problem! Maybe shoot all the evil business enterprises with no ethics, that might solve the remaining 20% the luggage restriction might not solve haha. So the conclusion is…the problem rest with all evil enterprises in China that scared off all the consumers in China. Guys! HK is like a freaking dot on the map! All these PRC customers running to HK hoarding the goods, seriously, imagine the scenario, how can HK sustain? You have a mountain running to the needle, OMG! I talked too much again with my 5 cents.

So it’s 2013 and I’ve been missing in action for much of 2012. Life has been hectic. I have moved to Singapore and spend a lot of time travelling and experiencing life. So much has gone on in 2012, I don’t even have time to document them!

I think I’ll try again in 2013, haha. I think for 2013, there will be more travelling and oh yea, maybe it’ll be a year of love?

The episode: A group of tourists from the mainland (around 3 women and their children) were riding on the MTR in Hong Kong; while on the MTR, they started eating instant noodles, completely ignoring the “no eating” signs. Another passenger on the MTR told them they cannot eat on the train and it ended up into a heated argument and yelling between Hong Kong people and Mainland tourists. This definitely is a small and even “irrelevant” incident, but it led to a lot more internal buildup of frustration between the people living in HK and the people from the Mainland that all exploded through this minor incident.

Why the video went crazy in HK: There are a lot of pent-up frustrations with local Hong Kong people over the influx of mainland tourists in HK. It really bothered HK people when Mainland tourists feel they are above the law, talking loudly and rashly, but the worst part is the attitudes and images they portrayed. It is common seeing Mainland tourists dragging little kids in shopping malls and they will suddenly drop their pants and start urinating or defecating in the middle of a shopping mall. It is common to see Mainlanders just butting into a long line, sidling up to people and pretending to be in the line. When caught, all they do is start yelling and saying they don’t understand Cantonese and their mentality is “if I can keep screaming and speaking really loud, you guys will eventually just let me be”. I believe at the end of the day, these are just minor issues locals in HK will gulp down and “take a beating to”, but when Mainlanders start rushing to HK to borne their babies to ensure their children will be able to access HK education and get HK citizenship, or snatching up all the infant formulas and bed space in hospitals, or overheating the property and real estate markets, many of the local HK can no longer tolerate because it truly affects their standards of living.

The Video: Comments to the incident on MTR made by a “so called” professor at the university of Beijing; very brash and rude languages used and repeatedly stating people of HK are dogs. After his comments caused huge debates and tensions between people living in HK and China, he went on interviews saying he has NEVER CALLED PEOPLE IN HK DOGS when it was repeatedly said in the video. Go figures!

His Comment: If people in HK are discriminating against people in China, then let China not supply you people with water, vegetables, rice, let’s see how you survive

My Comment: products supplied from China is constantly contaminated that there is no confidence for products that are “made in China”. This vote of “no confidence” is not just from HK, but the rest of the world as well. As a tax-free capitalist city, China is not the only place HK source or trade with, I do not believe people in HK will starve if China is to stop supplying their produce and goods. I believe many people in HK prefer to purchase overseas brands, because there is no confidence with the quality of products made in China.

His Comment: There is nothing special about HK, all the advantages that HK used to have, well Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen are all catching up. If it is not for people in China coming to HK to travel and to shop, you will be nothing, you cannot survive!

My Comment: While tourism is a big part of HK economy, HK is also known as the financial centre and logistics hub in Asia. While I believe majority of people in HK enjoy visitors and tourists from different parts of the world, what they do not enjoy is Mainland tourists coming to HK to buy milk powder, bottled water, cooking oil, and daily necessities to carry back to China because they do not believe in goods made in China. While people in HK should pity and feel sorry for Mainlanders, at the end of the day, they are only left feeling frustrated because these insane volume purchases left babies in HK constantly without milk powder. While tourists from Mainland might think they are doing HK a favor by pouring tourism money into the city, many people in HK feel they are worse off because their buying habits created many additional side effects such as landlord requesting additional rent, property prices exploding, and in turn, prices of goods rise because retailers need to pay high rent. If one is to walk down the main tourist districts of Causeway Bay or Tsim Sha Tsui, they have all became shopping strips of high-end brands such as LV, Chanel, and Gucci, because only these international brands can pay the ridiculous rents requested. Many outlets tailored to local HK people such as supermarkets and movie theatres are forced to close doors to make ways for these International brands. So, at the end of the day, are these tourist money really doing the city a favor?

His Comment: Why is HK clean? It is because there is laws there that penalized people who litter. The reason the city is in good shape is because it is regulated by laws, not because of the quality of the people who live in the city. For a city to be regulated by laws tells me that the quality of the people is low because they cannot regulate themselves. If they are not beaten, they will not be good. One word to describe this behavior: SHIT

My Comment: Last time I checked, there is a law and regulating system in China, but of course, rather the people abide to it or not is another thing completely. If following the laws mean the people in that place are of low quality, I would be happy in any law-abiding countries, because at least what is “right” and what is “wrong” are clearly stated. If urinating and defeating in public, jumping a line, or pushing your way into public transportation are the acts of high quality people, I am happy to be considered low quality and need to be regulated by laws.

My thought: I do acknowledge there is a certain degree of discrimination against people from China in HK, and that is nothing to be proud of. At the end of the day, the common root is we are all Chinese people with brown eyes, black hair, and yellow skin. I think everyone wants to be united and be proud to say HK is part of China, but I also believe that day will only come when some of the people from the Mainland can learn to “fine tune” their attitudes, behavoirs, thinking, and beliefs. When living in HK, I always frowned and shake my head at some of the outrageous behaviors I witness from Mainland tourists. I believe if you want people to accept you and to treat you civilly, you also need to behavior and act in a manner that allow others to respect you. It is unfortunate seeing all these conflicts between people from the mainland and HK, but I honestly do not think they will stop. If anything, I believe these conflicts will only escalate and get worst with all the pent-up anger and frustration from people in HK. I believe a lot of local HK people feel like their way of living, their standard of living, their self-image and belief are being eroded as more and more Mainlanders come to HK and “impose” their way of living, thinking, and behavior to the HK mass. There is a strong belief and hidden understanding in HK that the locals need to continue to show tolerance and acceptance to behaviors and acts they cannot accept from Mainlanders, and they are suffering as their image and quality of Chinese people is eroded at the international platform.

During the video, the professor has said repeatedly that HK people have been colonized so long by Britian that they have forgotten they are part of China. From my point of view, I am happy to see Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 because indeed HK is a part of China and so this port city should not be governed by foreign forces. However, at the same time, the reason it is not possible for HK and the rest of China to “merge” together and for the people living in these places to “merge” and see each other as so-called “the same” is because EVERYONE NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND HK and China are indeed different. When a developed and metropolitan city is to merge with a giant that is still developing, with lots of issues to human rights, corruption, and people with very different culture, mindset and beliefs; it is not truly possible to just “merge”. People in HK freak out when they see on TV local citizens living in Beijing needs to be trained to form lines to get on buses because you do not just all blindly push and run onto a bus when it arrives. This episode happened before the Beijing Olympics. The following statement I am about to make is always and constantly playing in the minds of people living in HK, which is “I feel like I am downgrading myself by saying I am part of China rather than saying I am Hong Kong”. I believe this statement runs very true to people living in Taiwan as well.

My view on this tax is translating so much more than a tax trying to prevent foreigners from purchasing homes in Singapore, it also translates to me professional foreigners are not wanted in Singapore and the locals feel threatened for no reason. Honestly, do you only want your country to import in blue-collar and low-income workers from impoverished nations that are not educated? ARE YOU SURE THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT THE DIRECTION OF SINGAPORE TO CHOOSE?

So in my last blog, as a “P.S.”, I mentioned the following, which I’ll now elaborate because I cannot resist:

“Singapore government, please be nice to me, why must you slap a 10% tax of foreigners purchasing homes in Singapore? I only want to buy a condo to live in, I have no intention of investing or flipping it in the market. You should slap the tax on 2nd purchase homes, not just on foreigners, especially since I am planning to make a life here, boo boo boo! If I continue, it will become a 2nd blog and clearly this is nothing exciting compared to all my trips, but come on! This policy doesn’t stop the mega rich, if they want to buy, they will still buy 5, 8, 10 condos! Do you want me to keep renting until I become a PR? But I am Chinese! Chinese people do not believe in renting for the long-term! Chinese people like to have a roof over their heads they can call their home!”

First Comment to my own comment:

if the gov wants to cool down the mkt, the measure should be for everyone in singapore, the buyers are not juyst foreigners isn’t it? The tax should be slapped on all buyers who are making 2nd or 3rd purchases. If the buyer that is purcahsing is to live in the condo, it’s silly to punish them for that. In a sense, I believe the HK gov’s cooling measure is a lot smarter, you don’t want to create a brain drain in the country.

Second comment to my comment:

Even if I am not a foreigner, I will still find the new cooling measure silly by the government. If the intention is to cool down the property market and prevent people from flipping or snapping up multiple properties, the tax should be slapped onto everyone who make 2nd, 3rd and more purchases, that makes more sense doesn’t it? The HK government did a cooling measure a few months back which I personally feel is way more aimed at the objective, to cool the market. Slap tax and restrictions on all buyers that are not 1st time buyer or for investment, because the intention is to cool the market! Unless the secret plan of the government is to stop foreigners from building a home and calling this country a home, which is so silly, why do you want to create a brain drain and kick out the professionals? If the locals only feel comfortable with street sweepers and blue-collar workers from Sri Lanka and pakistan and Philipines, that’s just so silly! Are you sure that is all the immigrants you want into the country?

My view on Mainlanders

OK, I just have to add this in because everyone seems to think Chinamen are pouring money into property markets and making the housing market do jumping jacks. While walking little pretzel, locals in Singapore like to express this view on Chinamen to me because I’m from HK so I must be feeling that pain too in HK. Yes, there is the mentality in HK that prices are skyrocketing because Chinamen with money just keep buying and buying in HK. So how do I really feel? Sometimes, I do not like mainlanders, and it’s not because they are pouring money into the HK economy, the reason I don’t like some of the mainlanders I see in HK is because they are not educated and are missing the software; an educated, cultured, and refined personality– it has nothing to do with the millions they have. I personally have no problem with Chinamen pouring money into HK, I welcome all the richies who like to buy LV and GUCCI only to bring them to wet markets in China, I have no problem with that. For Chinamen that like to snap up properties in HK, I also have no problem, because that tells the world HK is a good place to invest in, foreigners are validating that for the locals, so what do I have to complain?

I eat meat, I like beef. I am fully aware there are animals that are bred for human food consumption, so in the back of my mind, I know animals died so I can eat them. I have heard stories where cows have a sixth sense and know instinctively they are being herded to be killed, and some would tremble and collapsed to the floor. I don’t like imagining this picture, so even when animals are bred for human food consumption, I believe they should be killed or slaughtered in the most humane way. There is no need to add more pain/fear/distress to the animal during the process.

Below article is shared from Four Corners, an Australian organization in investigative journalism:

“Right now in northern Australia, ships are being readied to load thousands of cattle to be transported to Indonesia where they will be fattened in feedlots and sent to abattoirs for slaughter. Australia sends about 500,000 cattle there each year in a trade worth more than $300 million. Six million cattle have been sent to Indonesia since the trade began two decades ago, supplying a growing demand for beef.

Despite industry assurances that the welfare of cattle sent to Indonesia is “generally good”, Four Corners reveals that many thousands of these animals die slow and hideous deaths. Four Corners goes into the abattoirs that the Australian meat industry does not want the public to see. The results will shock viewers and confront industry and government with the question: how much suffering must these animals endure for the sake of profit?

Following a report published January this year by industry and government, painting a positive picture of conditions in Indonesia, animal welfare campaigners took their own cameras into abattoirs to record the conditions for themselves. That footage reveals that Australian training of the slaughtermen in Indonesia has been grossly inadequate. Animals smash their heads repeatedly on concrete as they struggle against ropes, take minutes to die in agony after repeated often clumsy cuts to the throat. In some cases there is abject and horrifying cruelty – kicking, hitting, eye-gouging and tail-breaking – as workers try to force the cattle to go into the slaughter boxes installed by the Australian industry, with Australian Government support.”